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'There's simply no choice in the matter'
Posted: Friday June 09, 2000 05:52 PM
DALLAS (AP) -- With a flick of his stick and a tip of the puck, Mike Modano delivered what could be a devastating blow to the New Jersey Devils. Modano's goal at 6:21 of the third overtime not only kept alive the Dallas Stars' chances of repeating as Stanley Cup champions, but also could have a long-term effect on the Devils. For most of Game 5 on Thursday night, New Jersey was one goal away from winning its second title since 1995 and giving owner John McMullen one great going-away gift. The Devils didn't just have one shot or two shots, but dozens of chances to sip champagne from Lord Stanley's Cup. Bobby Holik alone had eight very good shots on goal and a couple of others that missed yawning nets behind Stars goaltender Ed Belfour. "He could have had six goals," Devils coach Larry Robinson said. Instead, Modano converted at 1:13 a.m. EDT, sucking the wind right out the Devils. Goaltender Martin Brodeur put his hands on his knees and stared down at the ice as the puck lay in the net. Players on the bench slumped and the sellout crowd at the Continental Airlines Arena turned silent -- except for a few Stars fans. The moment resembled Scott Stevens' knockout of Eric Lindros with a check early in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference finals against Philadelphia. It took almost the rest of the period for the Flyers to get back in the game. "We had so many glorious opportunities," defenseman Ken Daneyko said. "We had a bunch of breakaways, two-on-ones, open shots and we couldn't score. We'll get by this. We have to. There's simply no choice in the matter." The Devils still lead the best-of-seven series 3-2 heading into Game 6 at Reunion Arena on Saturday night. But they failed to finish the job on home ice and there might be some doubt building. After all, the Devils got to the finals by overcoming a 3-1 deficit against Philadelphia in the conference semifinals. But in that series, the Flyers basically didn't show up for Games 5 and 6, and then lost the deciding game 2-1 on a somewhat flukey goal by Patrik Elias. The Devils showed up for Game 5 and the only reason they didn't win the Cup was that Ed Belfour wouldn't let them. He was phenomenal in stopping 48 shots and recording his fourth shutout of this year's playoffs. Brodeur was just as good -- almost. Robinson, who has pulled all the right strings since taking over for Robbie Ftorek with eight games left in the regular season, knows he'll be looking for the right words to get the team ready for Game 6. "It's natural to be down after a loss," Robinson said. "So I won't expect them to be jumping up and down and all smiles." While disappointment was what most of the players talked about in the wee hours after the game, there was also a sense of anger at letting the Cup slip through their hands. "This team has character," Holik said. "If we didn't have character then we wouldn't be here tonight. We'll bounce back from this. This won't put us down."
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